Partner Perspectives: The Corporate Tax Rate Should Raise More Revenue From Corporations

From the experts at the Economic Policy Institute:

What is the corporate tax rate? The corporate tax rate is the rate at which businesses are taxed on their income. After the passage of the GOP tax bill in December, the current corporate tax rate is 21%, the lowest rate since 1938.

Why was this tax cut unnecessary and harmful? Before the GOP bill, the corporate tax rate was 35%, although due to loopholes and deductions, very few businesses paid even close to that rate. The Trump administration has claimed many times that corporate tax rates are much higher than our international peers, and that those rates hurt our competitiveness. But according to calculations from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), these claims are both factually incorrect and economically meaningless.

In fact, according to calculations from EPI, the effective tax rate that corporations paid was only 14% (if they paid any at all), and equal 2.2% of US GDP. This is significantly lower than most other developed countries. The average for other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is 2.9% of GDP raised through corporate taxes. Additionally, even if US corporations were paying higher taxes than their international peers, butting their rates will do nothing to help the vast majority of American families. Workers will not see the benefits now that the corporate rate has been lowered. Instead, this tax cut will exacerbate inequality by boosting the post-tax incomes of owners and managers of corporations.

What should we do with the corporate tax rate? From EPI experts Josh Bivens and Hunter Blair: “To help most American families, corporate tax proposals should focus on increasing, not decreasing, the taxes paid by corporations. The corporate tax system is so riddled with loopholes that it raises far too little revenue and doesn’t contribute enough to the need of the federal government to honor existing commitments to social insurance, income support, and public investment. If policymakers are going to push corporate ‘tax reform,’ they should focus on requiring corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.”

Take action above to contact your elected officials and tell them to close the loopholes allowing corporations to pay little or no taxes!

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Our government has completely screwed us over. They’ve lowered taxes on corporations while increasing the tax burden on individuals. It’s time for corporations to actually start paying the taxes that they should be paying. By the way, taxes are not theft. That’s an absurd thing to say. Taxes are the dues you pay to live in a civilized society. If you want to go to public schools, drive on public roads, get protection through the police and the military, get unemployment benefits, Medicare, etc. then you pay taxes. Not a difficult concept to understand.

Lies. Trickle down lies. John Katko Ny24th sold out his district. He voted yes on a tax plan that he knows will hurt his constituents because he thinks it will help his party. JOHN KATKO. DONALD TRUMP. ROY MOORE. Can you here me now?

We the people demand that corporations and big business quit raping the communities and the country for obscene wealth at unfair advantage. Businesses troll communities for the biggest tax breaks because communities are so desperate for an employer they willingly sell their souls to get them and then they are caught-little or no tax revenue and when the grace period ends and the business is supposed to start paying the community back they close up shop leaving the under employed unemployed and an eyesore in the neighborhood.

Historically corporate profits are high and taxes paid are low. I support raising corporate tax rate. Close the loop holes that allow corporations to avoid taxes. Want to make America great again? Invest these tax dollars in infrastructure and education. This would benefit corporations and the public. The good citizens of this country will not stand for lowering the corporate tax rate. Absolutely not.

Trickle Down DOES NOT WORK. TRICKLE DOWN ALMOST BANKRUPTED KANSAS. Our corporate rates are not as bad as other countries, people need to research that, not just listen to Faux Entertainment - notice they don’t have “NEWS” in their title anymore. Taxing the people who rev the economy will only SLOW OR KILL THE ECONOMY. LOOK AT KANSAS,

Hey let’s make America great AGAIN !!! Let me see when was that? I think it sometime in 1950s that’s the tax rate we should be using remember?like 95 percent for the people at the top,and the tax break for the big corporations was we won’t tax the money you put back into your company for things like hiring more workers and expanding your facilities.ya that’s right and we liked it like that!!!!

Unless there is simultaneous legislation to increase minimum-wage to $15 then corporate tax rate should not go down to 20. We don't need to put more money in the pockets of big business owners and investors. Their pockets are already stuffed full. If they wanted to reinvest and stop putting money offshore they would've already done it. The temporary tax cuts for middle-class are not enough to balance out the fact that you are robbing the poor to pay the rich. Be Robin Hood not Prince John. If middle class or get a temporary tax cuts then corporation should get temporary tax cuts. The excuse that they need permit tax cut so they can plan accordingly goes along with why the middle class should get permit tax cuts. Stop robbing Peter to pay Paul. Remember that you represent the people not corporations. Get out of big businesses pockets.

Or alternatively phrased, "The Corporate Income Tax should steal more money from our economic engines." You call yourselves "Patriotic Millionaires"? There's nothing patriotic about advocating theft. You want the government to have more revenue? You're millionaires! Cut them a check yourself! There's nothing patriotic about raising revenue at someone else's expense, but there's something tyrannical about it.

If the Partner Perspectives view of tax rates were true, then you’d have to expect that the trend of international corporations would be to headquarter in America. The fact that the real trend was just the opposite during the Obama years is a key indication that the Partner Perspective is NOT true. Remember: money goes where it’s treated best.

The “Patriotic Millionaires” perspective that decreasing taxes on corporations stimulates the American economy and results in increased prosperity for lower & middle class Americans is written from the privileged perspective of the wealthy, with neither understanding nor concern for the citizens who form the backbone of the economy. Supply side fiscalism and trickle down economics were soundly disproven during the 8 years of the Regan administration, from which we have NOT recovered in the intervening decades. The experiment was just repeated in Kansas with the same disastrous consequences. The rich retain the gift of greater profit and the important 99% fall further behind. We all need to take to the streets and remind Congress who they work for — the American people, not corporate lobbyists. Dark money funding has no place in politics, and Citizens United must be overturned if we are to retain any semblance of our founding as a republic. BE VERY ANGRY!

My brother, the accountant, says the number 1 way to become rich in America and avoid taxes is to OWN A BUSINESS. Any business... doesn’t matter if you lose money, just switch to another money-losing business every 5 years. BECAUSE YOU CAN WRITE OFF YOUR ENTIRE LIFE IF YOU OWN A BUSINESS. So, kind of hard to convince me we need to cut Corp taxes when most write everything off.

All corporate tax rates and personal rates should stay the same until the infrastructure is addressed. Trump should have been concentrating on that first in order to help create lots of jobs and keep the country from crumbling. He is more interested in making sure the rich get richer. It is pretty obvious where his loyalty lies and it is not with the people who voted for him and think, as my brother does, that “he is the best thing that ever happened to this country.” When they finally figure it out their guns will be pointed at him.

History demonstrates that lowering the corporate tax rate directly benefits the middle class through more good jobs, higher wages and better benefits. This was the case in the 1920s, the 1960’s, ( the JFK tax cuts),and during the 1980’s under Reagan. The disparaging term, “trickle-down economics” advanced by tax and spend Democrats and intended to discredit successful Supply Side Economics, is unadulterated leftist propaganda.

Re: Lowering Corporate Tax. Why would anyone still assume if Corporations make more profit the workers and consumers would benefit? Experience tells us profits are passed on to shareholders and/or top management. I don’t see anything different happening if you lower tax rate. BTW, have you no shame, GIVING OUR MONEY to millionaires/billionaires? Stop lining the pockets of those who can most afford to pay!